I have had a quick sketch at what I would like my layout to look like. I want to show a guy in a gallery looking at two pictures. He is confused as to which is really art as one is a graphic design piece and the other is actually a piece of art. I have outlined the art piece to be the very well know mona lisa but havent as yet picked a piece of graphic design to use. I have given the person some thought bubbles to show some of the questions that i am going to be asking in my dissertation. The methodology and statement of study will be outlined at the top of the page to show what i plan to achieve.

Here are some dissertation posters that I have found and like the look of.

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I really like these posters because they are simple and effective. They don’t overcomplicate the message and are not too cluttered by text. There is a clear and powerful message conveyed by both. This is what I want to achieve with my poster, a clear message with limited text

After coming up with my idea i decided to take a look at what the dictionary states as what graphic design and art are. Here is what it says.

GRAPHI DESIGN:

Noun:

The art or skill of combining text and pictures in advertisements, magazines, or books.

ART:

Noun:

The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture,…: “the art of the Renaissance”

Works produced by such skill and imagination.

Shown here, there is clearly a difference between what is perceived as art and what graphic design is. Although the more mundane graphic designs for logos and corporate identity cannot be seen as art, there are many advertisements and logos where all the things described in this definition of art are necessary and visible. Graphic design requires skill and imagination to create a piece to meet the clients needs and look visually attractive.

For my dissertation I have decided to take a look at something that has, more recently, become an issue within the art community.

Is graphic design art?

This question has become more relevant over the past few decades as art has taken on many more radical and abstract forms. Now there has begun an argument for graphic design to be seen as art. Through the next few months I am going to explore the view points of the industry and the consumer on this issue. This will form the basis of my dissertation for my final year.

To begin with I have created this spidergram to explore some questions to be asked

For our final year, we have one major project which will last throughout the entire year. The project should have enough work involved to last that length of time and to produce a significant body of work. I have chosen to try and find something that interests me. Something that i can really get my teeth into and show off my talents as a designer. I had to think of what i enjoy about Design.

My initial thoughts turned to aesthetics of design, photography, manipulations and edits. I enjoy photography as a medium and would like to explore it in depth as i feel i have a good eye. This perhaps is not the best time to start experimenting with a medium I am not 100% confident in.

I then turned my attention to a field that I have some experience in and I enjoy. Magazine layouts and the editorial side. This is a field that I could see myself getting a job in after my university degree, so this could be worth thinking about and looking into more in-depth. To take this further I would have to think about what the content of the magazine would be and then what sort of size it would have to be to take up the amount of time that I have. I will speak with my tutor and discuss this idea further.

I also have a great admiration and desire to re-brand and create new identities for companies. This is something that I know will involve a substantial amount of work and I could be creative with it. This will also help me gain valuable experience in actual real life graphic design jobs. Again another to discuss with tutors.

One final idea that I have only recently stumbled across is to create a number of creative viral ads for campaigns. I have seen a few very creative and funny advertisements recently, and was thinking how much fun it would be to create a series of these posters. Most of them create fun out of a serious issue such as smoking and caner. Others just create a slapstick style of advert that makes people pause and look at the ad for that split second more than a usual one. This I feel is something that all adverts are trying to achieve. If a consumer lingers at an advert longer, they are more likely to absorb the message that it is trying to convey. I would like an opportunity to make someone linger, laugh and think about things from an advertisement.

So here are my ideas so far. Time to speak to my tutor and see which path would be more beneficial.